Eyeglasses or



'No. 6l9,578.

(No Model.)

Patented Feb. l4, I899.

A. KA HN.

EYEGLASSES 0B SPECTAGLES.

(Application filed July 26, 1897.)

UNITED STAT S- PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLPH KAHN, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

EYEG LASSES OR SPECTACLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 619,578, dated February14, 1899.

Application filed July 26, 1897- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADOLPH KAHN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Eyeglasses or Spectacles; and Ido declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to what are known as fframeless eyeglasses andspectacles, and has for its object to facilitate the fitting of the sameand to avoid the liability of breakage; and it consists in the novelfeatures as will be hereinafter more particularly set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which the samereference-numeral indicates the same part in each of the views in whichit occurs, Figure 1 is a planview of a pair of eyeglasses embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3is a perspective view of an eyeglass, showing an additional element.Fig. at is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 5 is a detailview.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates the glass,which may be of any size, thickness, or shape that may be needed by theuser. The glass is provided with the usual hole or perforation 2 nearthe edge of the end that is to be secured to the frame or setting 3. Asthe glasses required to meet the varied necessities of the users may bethick or thin, concave or convex, and the distance of the hole from theedge may also vary in different glasses, it is necessary that some meanshe provided by which all these conditions may be met by the ordinarydealer in such articles. If the ordinary two-arm setting be used, then alarge stock must be kept constantly on hand to fit all thicknesses ofglasses, and with concave glasses it is almostimpossible to make a goodfit owingto the fact that the tip of the arm must be bent inward towardthe glass, which will prevent its passing over the thicker edge. Toremedy these objections, resort has been had to a Serial No. 645,994.(No model.)

single arm, to the outer end of whichaclamping-screw has been securedafter having been passed through the hole in the glass; but experiencehas shown that the use of such a device is objectionable in that it isdifficult of attachment, for the reason that it virtually requires theuse of three hands to assemble the partsone to hold the bridge-piece,one to hold the lens or glass, and the third one to manipulate thescrew. As the parts forming the attachment are small and easily brokenor lost, this objection is a very serious one, and when it is consideredthat the point of attachment to the arm is very thin it will be seenthat the screw-threads, which must be very fine, will soon be so worn orcut out that they will not hold the parts together. Still anotherobjection to this form of attachment is found in the necessityof'fitting the inner end of the glass to the shoulders on the setting tohold it in position. This often necessitates several trials, in whichthe shoulders must be bent-toward or from the glass until they willfinally hold the glass against the clamping-screw just tight enough toprevent its movement, without pinching or straining the glass to such anextent as to crack or break it. To make these trials the glass must besecured to the setting and the amount of change in the shoulderestimated and the glass be then removed from the setting and thenecessary change made, when the glass must again be secured to thesetting, andif the change has not been correct the glass must be againremoved and still another attempt be made to get it right; but as theedge of the glass must bear against the shoulders with a slight pressureit is almost impossible to enter the end of the screw into thescrew-threaded opening in the end of the arm. And still anotherobjection is found in the liability of breaking the glass in cutting offthe end of the screw to correspond with the thickness of the glass,which must be done after it has been passed through the glass or thescrew removed after it has been marked. To 0bviate all of theseobjections and to produce a device which shall be so simple that anyone, although not a mechanic or optician, can fit or remove a glass fromits setting at any time without the aid of tools of any kind, I haveconstructed the setting with only a single arm or ear, to the outer endof which I have rigidly secured or formed integral therewith ascrewthreaded pin or post 4, which can be made of such length as toaccommodate any thickness of glass which maybe called for by the trade.This pin is located at such a distance from the flexible wings 5, whichform the shoulders on the shank of the setting, as will best accommodatethe majority of glasses. A nut 6, preferably a wing-nut, is then fittedonto the end of the pin, which will securely clamp the glass against thearm and hold it against displacement. VVhen it is desired to remove theglass, it is only necessary to remove the nut and lift the glass fromthe pin. In fitting the glass to the setting originally the glass isslipped down over the pin and the amount of change, if any, in theshoulders is noted and the glass removed and the change made tocorrespond with the variation noted. The glass is then replaced and anyfurther change noted and made without having to apply the nut to thepin. After this fitting has been accomplished, or before, the length ofthe pin is noted and marked and the glass removed and the end of the pinout off and smoothed without any danger of breaking the glass, as isliable to happen if the glass be secured by the screw when it is cutoff. It also prevents any wear or cutting of the screw-threads byrepeated removals of the screw. By giving the screw-threads the properpitch the strain upon the glasses in placing them upon the nose willhave a tendency to tighten the nut and thus prevent its unscrewing-thatis, the screw-threads upon the pin at the right eye should beleft-handed and the one at the left eye should be right-handed.

It has been found by experience that with only a single arm or ear tosecure the glasses to the setting, and especially with thick heavyglasses, the arm is liable to bend and throw the glass or lens out ofline with the eye. To remedy this objection I have used a supplementalarm or ear 7, one end of which is provided with a hole 8 to fit over theend of the pin 4:, while the opposite end may be provided with two legs9, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, and5. The legs are made to pass upon oppositesides of the shank outside of the wings 5.

In assembling the parts the arms and pins of the settings are bent tocorrespond with when securely fastened together by the single 1 nutemployed on each pin it will be found that a very strong and simpleattachment has been secured and one which can be manipulated by any onein any place.

It will be noted from the foregoing that the essential feature of thepresent invention resides in constructing a setting the shank of whichhas a single arm, on the end of which is formed an integral threadedpin, over which an apertured lens may be rigidly held Without atightening-nut while the adjustment of the flexible wings on the shankof the setting may be determined upon, after which the lens may beremoved and the wings bent, so that when the lens is replaced on the pinthe same will be snugly held between the pin and wings and in readinessto be held in such a relation by means of a tightening-nut.

Although I have only shown my invention applied to eyeglasses, it isevident that it can be applied to spectacles as well by having thetemple-joints attached to the outer end of the glasses, as shown indotted lines at 13 in Fig. 1, in the same manner that the settings areattached to the inner end. It is also evident that my invention can beused with any form of bridge-piece and can be made out of any desiredmaterial-as gold, silver, aluminium, &c.-and for the thicker glasses thearm of the setting and the pin may be made of extra strength andthickness to prevent the arm from being bent by the heavy load.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. A lens-clamp foreyeglasses, composed of a shank provided with flanges for engaging theedge of the lens, and a flange for engaging one face thereof, saidflange having a projection rigidly secured thereto for insertion in ahole in the lens, in combination with detachable means for engaging thesaid projection and the opposite face of the lens, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination with a setting for eyeglasses, comprising an arm, theshank of which is provided with flexible wings or shoulders, and theouter end of which is provided with an exteriorly-screw-threaded rigidpin, of a supplemental arm, one end of which engages with the pin andthe opposite end is provided with two legs, and a nut upon the end ofthe pin, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ADOLPII KAHN.

Witnesses:

W. S. BOYD, PHILIP F. LARNER.

